Commissioner Goodell: League won’t pay for proof

Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday the NFL won’t pay for video evidence in cases involving domestic violence, and he defended the league’s handling of those investigations.

Speaking after owners held their annual winter meeting in Irving, Texas, Goodell said the NFL’s approach to dealing with domestic violence is “extraordinary” and that the league has some of the highest standards of any organization.

The NFL came under scrutiny again when surveillance video showed then-Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt shoving and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel in February.

Hunt wasn’t disciplined before the video was released by TMZ.

After the video came out, Hunt was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, the equivalent of suspending him indefinitely with pay. The Chiefs waived him.

Goodell said the hotel and police in Cleveland declined to release the video to the league.

“First off, we don’t pay for video evidence,” Goodell said. “... We think that’s not appropriate.

“We obtained material that we have access to. But we’re not going to do it by corrupting people or trying to find a way to bribe them into giving us video. That’s not what we do.”

Flacco loses top job: Joe Flacco has lost his job as Ravens starting quarterback and will be the backup Sunday against the Buccaneers for the first time in his 11-year NFL career.

Flacco is healthy after missing the last four games with a right hip injury. The Ravens went 3-1 during his absence under rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson, and coach John Harbaugh has decided to stick with the first-round draft pick.

Flacco, 33, has been a starter since his rookie season in 2008 and was Super Bowl MVP when the Ravens beat the 49ers to end the 2012 season.